There are two reasons I ordered this watch.
One, to me it looks like an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean homage. A Planet Ocean is on my shortlist, and I’m currently saving up for one, so I thought this might ease me into the bliss of when I get my own Planet Ocean.
Two, I’m gathering dive watches at $100 or lower for a budget dive watch shootout to see if they are worth purchasing. I personally have never owned a dive watch that was purchased for less than $100, and to be honest I’m kind of skeptical someone can make a good dive watch for that price point.
Let’s see what we’ve got here.
Watch Specifications
Case diameter: 44mm
Case thickness: 10.1mm
Weight: 142 grams
Movement: Quartz
Band width: 22mm
Lug to lug: 51mm
Lug width: 22mm
Water resistance: 300m
Crystal: Sapphire
Case
The Neymar has a 316 stainless steel case, which is pretty standard on dive watches. I have found no corrosion from seawater on mine with plenty of use in the ocean.
The case on this watch is very reminiscent of the Omega, it has a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. As stated earlier and probably throughout this review I am a big fan of the design. I like the 44mm size for my 7 inch wrist, but any larger and it would probably be too big for me.
I like a big watch on my wrist though, that is not for everyone. The 51mm lug to lug is pretty long, but the way the bracelet is recessed into the end links it wears a little shorter than the 51mm.
I think if you have a wrist smaller than 7 inches is might be a little too big, a lot depends on how your wrist is shaped.
Crown
I like to see crown guards on a dive watch, and the Neymar is absent crown guards. The crown is a potential weak spot on any watch, it is easily hit and bent or worse. What Omega does, and Neymar copied, is to have an indention into the case where the crown fits snugly.
I am guessing they think that the crown sits snugly into the indent and this provides support if the crown does get bumped or slammed into. After wearing the Neymar for nearly two months I have had no issues.
Overall I do prefer crown guards, but this seems to be an adequate system. No complaints here.
Crystal
What you really want to see on any watch, and especially a dive watch that is subject to more abuse, is a sapphire crystal. Sapphire is the hardest crystal you can purchase on a watch, and something I would not expect to find on a $100 watch. This watch does have a sapphire crystal, which is a big selling point for me.
I tend to bang my wrist into door jams, door handles, scuba tanks, etc. and the sapphire crystals on my watches have really held up well. This is a pretty big bonus on a watch at this price.
Bezel
As a diver, the bezel on a dive watch is pretty important. The Neymar has a nice one, but it is not perfect.
My experience with cheaper dive watches is the bezel action can be pretty bad. Not so with the Neymar. The machining on the sides gives it a nice grip. It is easy to turn with or without gloves. I found underwater operation of this bezel was really nice.
The bezel on this watch does have a small amount of back play, but other than that it is great.
Very little to complain about with the bezel on the Neymar.
Strap/Bracelet
Overall I think the quality of this bracelet at the $100 price point is pretty nice. I found no pinching or ripping out of any arm hairs. It is adjustable by pins, so you might have to take it in to a jeweler to be adjusted, but at this price it is to be expected.
The clasp is pressed metal, and although I would love to see a machined clasp, at $100 overall cost for this watch that’s probably out of the question. The clasp is very nice however, with a dual mechanism securing it to your wrist. Although not perfect, this is the best bracelet I have ever seen on a watch under $100.
Dial
This is the big departure from the Omega Planet Ocean. The Neymar’s dial is not at all like the Omega’s. I much prefer the Omega’s, but this is a homage watch, not a copy. And it’s also thousands of dollars less.
I like the fact that Neymar is not trying to outright copy the Omega, it’s trying to stand out on its own.
Any dial is a matter of personal preference, for me this one is ok. I’m not overly excited about the design, but Neymar didn’t make it terrible either. To me it looks like a mix of printed text and lines on the dial, and applied indices and Arabic numerals.
The date function is easily readable.
Overall for me the dial is fine. I’m not jumping up and down about it, but it isn’t terrible.
Hands
I think it’s pretty evident by now that I really want an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean, and the hands on the Neymar are nearly identical copies of the Omega. They are simple and easy to read.
I particularly like that the color of the lume on the hands is different than on the dial. Some people do not like this, and I get it, it’s a personal preference but I quite like it. I give the hands a thumbs up.
Lume
The Neymar has lume in spades. Here is a photo of the Neymar on the left, a Citizen Promaster in the middle, and a Seiko SKX on the far right. Seiko’s are renowned for their lume, and the Neymar holds its own against the Seiko.
You can see how it has two different colors of lume which I am a fan of. I understand that the two tone lume is not for everyone.
Movement
The Neymar has a quartz movement. Nothing wrong with a quartz movement on a $100 watch. For a description of different types of movements see my blog post here.
Wrist Presence
I was walking down the street in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and someone asked me if my watch was a Rolex. No, the Neymar is most decidedly not a Rolex. But hey, if it looks nice enough to be mistaken for one I’ll take it.
It looks nice on wrist. My personal preference at the 44mm case size is a little thicker than the 10.1mm thickness of this Neymar. This does have a benefit however, you can’t fit a thick watch under shirt sleeves. The Neymar does fit under shirt sleeves, so if like me for your day job you sometimes wear a suit, you can wear the Neymar.
Clearly it looks pretty nice.
Final Thoughts
I am not familiar with Neymar as a brand at all. I poked around on the internet and really didn’t find much. I wasn’t expecting much from this watch.
I was surprised by this one.
At $100 this is a nice watch. I picked up mine on Amazon so it arrived in a couple of days. I am a big fan of the Planet Ocean features on this watch, even though it is $4000 – $5000 cheaper.
Pros:
Sapphire crystal
Great lume
Bezel works well
Cons:
A little play in the bezel
Stamped clasp
Would I buy it again? Yes I would. As a matter of fact, I intended to sell this watch after the review, but it is going to stick around a while. I like this watch. This is a capable dive watch I think will last years.
For $100 there are a lot worse watches out there. The small niggles I have with this watch are pretty small, and to be expected with a budget dive watch.
This watch purchase was one of four I bought for under $100 for my sub $100 dive watch shootout. If you are looking for a dive watch for under $100 check out that blog post here.
